should I be concerned about my 18 month old parrot talking?

[ikeaismylocal]

My 18 month old talks lots, he does have quite a few words which he uses independently and he has also started to put together 2 or 3 words ( more water, icecream gone, baby sad etc)

My worry is that he copies almost everything we say, he even copies our sighs/tuts/groans. Often if I say "look a little doggy!" he'll parrot back to ne "little doggy".

He knows that Pappa's car is blue and if you ask him "what colour is that bus?" he answers with "Pappa's car is blue!" he also says "I love you" but I'm sure he has just learnt that rather than aactually understanding what it means.

He copies his little friends, if we are out with a friend and the friend falls over ds will run over and pretend to fall over next to the friend.

I have read somewhere that parrot talking can be a sign of autism, I'm wondering if that is age specific or is parrot talking is a concern even so early.

We recently had ds's 18 month check up and the hv said his talking was fine, but I didn't specifically ask her if the copying was normal, I wonder if I should book to go back and see her?

Ds is bilingual and has a pretty equal number of words in both his languages, I'm not sure if bilingualism would make any difference to if copying is normal or not.

Sorry I can't really help, but my friend has a bilingual child and her talking took a little longer.

I wonder if they are linked? However my first reaction was that he sounds normal for 18 months - but mine is only 13 months so don't take my word for it!

I think copying what someone has just said is a pretty standard way for toddlers to try out saying new words. If you don't have other concerns about your ds, I wouldn't worry unduly.

This is called 'echolalia' and at that stage it is a normal part of the speech/language development

He's very young

ATM I wouldn't be concerned about this

Thanks for the reassurance, it's good to hear it's normal at this stage!

He had a development with the word blue today, he said blue bus which is an improvement on always saying the car is blue.

I thought they were SUPPOSED to mimic. DS does, he's almost 2 now and he mimics everything and repeats everything and copies is folding arms, legs etc

My DD used to do similar at that age. She still does to a certain extent, and she'll be 3 in a few weeks.

Thought you were on about a pet parrot by the title! Sorry not much advice - I have a 3 year old who is quite behind with his talking and he went through a phase of copying everything I said. Is your health visitor any good? She/he might be able to reassure you - it was mine that picked up on my boys lack of speech - I hadn't even realised that he was behind.

FlipFlop they are supposed to mimic...or echo...but there's a point where it should stop. When it doesn't stop then it's called Echolalia...and it can be an issue which suggests there's some difficulty with their language development.

By 24 months a child should begin to stop mimicking in this way and provide their own responses to questions or comments.

I was wondering if I should go to my hv, she has seen ds less than a month ago and asked about his speach and she seemed to think it was fine, but I didn't specifically mention his parrot speaking although she did talk to him and he did parrot speak a little with her.

He does seem to do it more than his little friends who are the same age, but maybe they are just all different.

Ask the HV for sure and if it goes on more than another month then ask for a referral to a speech and language therapist.
Have you any other concerns about him?

I have lots of concerns but I am a very anxious parent so I think they are mostly silly concerns. I have told my hv about lots of my concerns and she always just siad it's fine and normal.

Yes we all have concerns! It's parental downfall isn't it!

As someone else said, it's normal up to a point....and some toddlers just don't stick perfectly to milestones do they? Give it a month and then do ask about it or you'll tie yourself up in knots worrying.x

Silly I know all about the differences between delayed and immediate Echolalia and what concerned me was the DS's response to the "What colour is the bus?" and his answer "Daddy's car is blue". Yes he's 18 months which is very small, however in my experience when a parent has concern, their instinct is always best followed up with a professional's opinion.

At best it will settle the parent's mind and should there be any cause for concern then help can be found sooner and waiting lists are not such an issue.